Apparatus for treating food products.



No. 682,865. Patented Sept. l7, l90l.

- w. H. wmmn.

APPARATUS FUR TREATING FOOD PRODUCTS. (App licafion filed June 19, 1896.) (No Model.)

WITNESSES: INVENTOR- ll UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE,

WILLIAM H. WRIGHT, OF NEW- YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE VACUUM CAN & JAR COMPANY OF SAME'PLACE. j

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FOOD PRODUCTS.

SEGIFIQATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 682,865, dated September 17, 1901.

Application filed June 19, 1896.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WRIGHT, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Treating Food Products, of which the following isa specification.

My invention refers to an apparatus for treating food products, and is intended to provide means whereby such food products may be subjected to an absolutely-determined limit of heat to destroy the germsand also to provide for an easy, positive, and delicate valve-like action of the covers of the vessels or jars during the treating process.

The drawing represents in vertical section an apparatus embodying the principle of my invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A represents a vessel adapted to receive one or more racks for holding vessels or jars and also adapted to contain water or other fluid.

B represents a rack for holding vessels or jars. O is the upper movable member of such a rack, and D is the base, provided with a central vertical post E, upon which the movable member 0 is mounted, capable of vertical adjustment by means of thumb-- screw e. I

c 0 represent pistons carried on the movable member 0 and capable of reciprocal movement relatively thereto, said pistons carrying at their lower ends disks 0 c, which are adapted to bear on the covers f of the vessel or jar contained in the rack.

c c are springs for the purpose of exerting pressure upon the covers of the vessels or jars through the medium of disks 0 c.

The rack may be constructed to contain any number of vessels or jars F, the body portion of which may be of any desired shape. To operate properly to accomplish the desired result, however, the caps or covers of the vessels or jars and the heads thereof should be of the form shown in the drawings to wit, the headf of the jar is made with circular upwardly-converging sides adapted to give a comparatively extended bearing-surface to a correspondingly-shaped capf. The

head f is provided with an annular groove in Serial No. 596,200. (No model.)

which is seated a ring of rubber or similar elastic material f In the treatment of food products by the present apparatus I place vessels or jars in a rack and adjust the movable member of the rack to a predetermined point relatively to the covers of the vessels or jars and place the rack in a receptacle, as A, and fill the same with water or other fluid to the desired height, which in some cases will cover the caps or covers of the vessels or jars. Heat is then applied to the receptacle A to raise the fluid surrounding the vessels or jars to the boilingpoint. Under the influence of the heat the food products contained in the vessels or jars swell up and the air and other gases expand, thus gradually increasing the internal pressure of the vessels or jars and raising the covers against the pressure of springs 0 During this increase of the internal pressure of the vessels or jars the elastic ring f (which has been compressed by the cover) gradually resumes its normal dimensions proportion= ately as the cap or cover is raised until a point is reached when the cap or cover has no compressing action on the ring, which simply fills up the space between the outer surface of the head f and the innersurface of the cap. Further increase of the internal pressure of the vessels or jars will raise the covers of the vessels or jars out of contact with the ring and permit of the escape of the gas from the vessels or jars, which of course will be attended with a consequent reduction 0 will immediately close the vessel.

By reasonof the peculiar construction of the head and cover of the vessel or jar and the employment of the intervening elastic ring, associated and acting with a pressurerack of substantially the character described, all the cooperating elements of which vessels or jars and rack may be so proportioned and pensate for a predetermined internal pressure, a most delicate valve action is secured, the internal and external pressures on the covers or caps of the vessels or jars during the heating process being kept constantly in eqm'Z-ibmb, thus permitting of the total imin the internal pressure, so that the springs.

calculated relatively to each other as to com groove, a cover for each of said jars having 15 its inner surface corresponding with the convergence of the head of the jar and adapted, when pressure is applied, to distort said elastic ring, to force it into said zones, and a yielding pressure device for said covers.

In testimony whereof I have signed my .name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

ERNEST HOPKINSON, Y W. LAIRD GoLDsBoRoUGH. 

